Reviews!
Lemony Flutter lotion
This is the lotion I was most looking forward to, as I’ve always loved the intense citrus of Lemony Flutter and the idea of being able to slather it all over was very appealing. At first whiff I must admit I was a tad disappointed as it just didn’t smell very strong to me. BUT, once a smoothed it onto my arm, the gorgeous fragrance was released and wafted about beautifully. It’s just delicious – sharp and fresh like lemon sherbet – and so perfect for the summer. The consistency is about the same as Karma Kream, and it sank into my skin almost immediately and didn’t need a lot of rubbing in. I put some on my right arm about two hours ago and I can still smell it quite strongly, though it has softened a little and lost some of its initial zing. Now it’s more of a summer’s-day-sitting-under-a-lemon-tree kind of fragrance rather than a squeezing-lemon-juice-over-my-pancake scent. My arm still feels very soft and well—moisturised, and I can’t see me needing to put any more on for several hours, and my skin is usually quite dry these days. This is my personal favourite of the forum special products and I’m going to grab myself at least two pots (and possibly a small stash of Bon Bombs too as they would go perfectly together!).
Glitterbug Lotion
Our first concern with this was whether the glitter would hang nicely in the lotion or start sinking to the bottom of the pot, but we needn’t have worried; the particles are so fine that they’ve distributed perfectly through the lotion. The glitter is gold, and the same as that found in Shimmy Shimmy, whereas the perfume of the lotion is the same as the one in the last (iridescent) incarnation of Glitterbug.
Though the glitter used is very fine, when you smooth it on you can (just) feel it against your skin, so people with very sensitive skin may want to go carefully and avoid being overly vigorous rubbing it in. The glitter ratio is, I think, a little less than when using a Shimmy Shimmy, so will leave you slightly less twinkly than a rub down with the massage bar would.
I had forgotten just what a lovely fragrance this is; floral but a bit musky (though, of course, no animal musk would be allowed within a mile of any of our products!), and really quite sexy. It has real staying power too, and two hours after I put it on it still smells just as strong. I found this the most moisturising of the three lotions, and if I touch my left arm now I can still feel its presence.
American Cream Lotion
I must admit I’m not a usually a fan of the American Cream fragrance, so I was a bit meh at the thought of having it turned into a lotion. But I’ve been pleasantly surprised by this. There’s an extra dollop of creaminess in the fragrance here when compared to the conditioner. It smells to me a lot like vanilla ice cream, perhaps with a drizzle of strawberry sauce. After a couple of hours on my arm the fragrance is still there, but I put it on the underside of the same arm that has the Glitterbug lotion on, and Glitterbug definitely smells stronger. For those of you worried about it smelling too much like Vanilla Dee-Lite, it really doesn’t; Vanilla Dee-Lite has a whole caramel undertone that’s completely missing from this. The consistency here is the same as for the Lemony Flutter lotion; it sinks in quickly and moisturises well. I hadn’t thought I was going to want a pot of this, but now I’m sorely tempted...
Fruity Beauty SG
The new shower gel is shown here with its prototype label from when it was still called H.V. Sauce (after its inventors, Harry and Vicky). It’s not quite the colour I was expecting – I was thinking it would be a deeper raspberry colour, but this is more of a dark peach, almost the same colour as the forum special Karma shower gel.
I still have half a bottle of Artemis Cream at home, which was a forum special about three years ago, so if you remember that one you’ll have a very good idea of what this smells like as Wesley has used the same fragrance here. Though the first smell that hits you is raspberry, there’s a hefty hit of pineapple and I can detect the lime as well. The fragrance is quite soft and fresh though, and nothing like a synthetic fruitiness you might get in an ordinary high street fruity shower gel. The vodka adds a boozy depth to the fragrance and, as vodka is an astringent, I’m guessing it will give a nice invigorating feeling on the skin. It’s a real cocktail of fragrances, with no one element overwhelming the others, and is quite unlike any shower gel we’ve done before, though if I was pushed I might compare it to Iced Wine.
The consistency is the same as Flying Fox or Chai, quite thick and opaque, but not creamy. I haven’t had the chance to take this home and try it out in the shower, so unfortunately can’t comment on its cleaning abilities, but I know I’m definitely going to pop a bottle in my own order as I love it!
"It's good to be open-minded, but not so open that your brains fall out."